#Metal lath and plaster walls update

Thanks again, and I will post an update with my findings.Plasterers applying rough and finish coats of plaster. What are the odds of non-uniformly spaced studs? I think tomorrow I will shut off the breaker for those outlets and chip away the plaster and get a good look at where and how the boxes are attached.Īgain I am in Brooklyn and the building was built in 1903. I pulled the cover plate off one of the outlets and had a look at the box, but its pretty much slathered in plaster. I am drilling the holes near the vertical center of the wall, not too near the floor or ceiling. And when it doesnt completely stick I can pull the floss a good 5 inches away from the wall and the magnet still stays near the wall. Although the wall might not be perfectly plumb, on many parts of the wall, and at no perceivable interval, the magnet completely sticks without any support the floss. Thanks a bunch for the info about the kinds of lath. Shouldn't this distance be a multiple of 16 or 24 inches? The wall has two outlets on it, spaced approximately 84' apart. Or if you are not sure move the bit up or down a little and look for the space between the lath (key) and follow that along and you will be sure when you miss or hit a stud. If the drill continues to meet resistance then you are likely in a stud. Even if you go through a wood lath you should be able to tell when you stop hitting resistance when you penetrate the lath. You might be drilling your probe holes too near the floor and hitting the plate or to the ceiling hitting the plate. Find a box and carefully look to see if there is a stud on the (usually left, if the electrician was right handed) side of the box then measure over 16' and see what you find then try 24'. maybe you hold it by the floss and the wall is out of plumb enough that the magnet hits the wall and you think it is sticking. I think probably expanded metal or rib lath would attract a magnet. (I also sometimes use diamond mesh over wood lath for patches.) Around here it is common to find one of these over wood lath. There is woven wire lath which is usually 17ga. I would be surprised to find either of these over wood lath. There is rib lath which is a combination of expanded metal and not perforated ribs for stiffening. Yes, it is possible that there is both wood lath and metal lath in a plaster wall. I worry that the power and weight of my dewalt hand drill is preventing me from feeling when the drill bit hits a stud.Īny help would be immensely appreciated!!! I am on the verge of hiring someone to to it for me, but I figured I would try the mecca of not hiring other people, and instead doing it yourself. How deep is the layer of plaster typically? I have considered trying to hand-screw in drywall screws and see if I can find stud. Is there ANYTHING I can try that I haven't tried yet? Seems a lot of folks have turned to the internet for help. I've taken a little bit of comfort knowing that I'm not the first person to go crazy trying to locate studs in this type of wall. Is it common to have both metal and wood lathing together? Problem is, there is nowhere it DOESNT stick to the wall! Does this mean there is also a metal lathing of some sort? The magnet sticks to the wall literally everywhere, on every wall in the apartment. I assumed this was because I was not only hitting the studs, but also the wood lathing, which produced wood shavings at intervals between 16inches.Īs a last resort, I decided to tie a strong magnet to some dental floss to try and find nails holding the lath to the studs and to my surprise it stuck to the wall. This method has not produced consistent results. I measured 16' from either end of the wall and began drilling little holes. I've drilled a number of holes trying to locate the studs, which I assume are on 16' centers (building was built in 1931). Listening for the studs while banging on the wall. I have tried all of the methods outlined on the internet. Luckily, I have the power of the internet which is rendering my books obsolete and is quite a bit lighter and doesnt require shelving.

#Metal lath and plaster walls install

I have recently moved into an apartment in the lovely neighborhood of Greenpoint Brooklyn and am trying to install a shelf into a plaster and lath wall that will need to support the weight of many books about 'how to find studs in plaster and lath walls.' Although the knowledge is at my fingertips I suffer from a rare psychological disorder that prevents me from reading books not on shelves. Greetings all ye experts on patching and plastering.